Atherton to bill White House $7,616.41 to cover cost of Obama's April 4 fundraising visit

By Bonnie Eslinger

Daily News Staff Writer

Posted:
04/20/2013 03:00:00 AM PDT

When President Barack Obama made a two-day fundraising stop in the Bay Area earlier this month and attended two events in Atherton, he reportedly picked up $3.25 million in campaign cash.

Now Atherton leaders want someone to pick up the town's $7,616.41 tab for police and other security-related services to protect the president during his April 4 visit.

The town next week will send invoices to the White House, Secret Service, Democratic National Committee and the two Atherton households who hosted the private donor events, City Manager George Rodericks said Friday.

"Which one of them is going to reimburse the town is anyone's guess," Rodericks said. "It's kind of like the shotgun approach; you send invoices to everyone and see who pays it."

The households will get bills that split the nearly $8,000 total in half. The others will be asked to pay the full amount, Rodericks said. If the town happens to collect more than $7,616.41, the extra money will be divided and returned, he added.

Although this is the first time Atherton will send out an official request for payment, it won't be the last, Rodericks said. Council members have been asking why Atherton should shoulder political fundraising costs and the town's finance committee has recommended that reimbursement be sought whenever possible, Rodericks said.

While Atherton's approximately 7,000 residents are among the nation's wealthiest -- last year the town came in third on Forbes' annual "Most Expensive Zip Codes" list -- their government has struggled in recent years to balance its budget and two years ago outsourced about 30 percent of its workforce to cut costs.

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Obama swung through Atherton three times during last year's election season, said Council Member Bill Widmer, a registered Republican.

"This last one was purely a fundraiser for the Democratic Party," Widmer said. "We're a small town, as you know, and we're pushing forward with trying to control our budget."

He said the town doesn't gain anything from the presidential visits, which consume hours of police and staff time to coordinate -- time taken away from serving residents.

The White House referred reimbursement question to the Secret Service, which did not respond. The Democratic National Committee also did not return The Daily News' call Friday afternoon.

Levi-Strauss heir John Goldman, who with his wife held an outdoor fundraiser for Obama at their Atherton home for a ticket price of $1,000 to $20,000, said he hasn't heard that he might be charged for the town's costs.

"And since I haven't heard anything, I have no comment," Goldman said.

Atherton resident Mark Heising, who with his wife Liz Simons hosted a $32,400-a-plate brunch for the president on April 4, couldn't be reached for comment.

Getting the money is a long shot, Widmer acknowledged, but the council nevertheless should ask out of principle.

"I think when they come and raise $3 million, $8,000 is a drop in the bucket," Widmer said.